1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an external wall panel construction to be installed in houses, buildings, and similar.
2. Discussion of Background
An external wall panel is often installed on structures, such as houses and buildings, for the purpose of cladding the external walls.
External wall panels have conventionally been used by fixing a furring member 93 to the rear surface of an external wall panel 9, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B. The furring member 93 is fixed to the external wall panel 9 with a fixture 92, such as a nail, a screw, or a rivet, which is driven or screwed through the front surface of the external wall panel and into the furring member 93.
The furring member 93 is then fixed to a stud wall, such as an inner wall or an iron frame of a building.
As shown in FIG. 12, an external wall panel construction 90 includes the external wall panel 9 and the furring member 93 fixed thereto. The external wall panel construction 90 is fixedly installed on a stud wall 961 which is laterally provided on a pole 96 of a building. More specifically, the furring member 93 has a protruding fixing member 962 protruding therefrom. The protruding fixing member 962 is fixedly attached to the furring member 93 via a screw 965, which is screwed through the protruding fixing member 962 and into the furring member 93.
However, the conventional external wall panel construction has the following problem.
In the conventional external wall panel construction 90, the furring member 93 is fixed to the external wall panel 9 with a fixture 92, such as a nail or a screw, which is driven or screwed, respectively, into the furring member 93, through the front surface of the external wall panel 9. Thus, a head 921 of the fixture 92 sticks out slightly from on the front surface of the external wall panel 9.
It would be desirable to cover the head 921 of the fixture 92 with the same paint as that applied to the front surface of the external wall panel 9. However, the color of the paint on the front surface of the external wall panel 9 is likely to be somewhat discolored with age and/or weathering, and therefore applying fresh paint on the head 921 of the fixture 92 will most likely result in a deterioration in the appearance of the external wall panel 9.
Of course, it is conceivable to use a method of fixing the furring member 93 to the external wall panel 9, as described above, and then painting the entire front surface of the external wall panel 9.
However, if this is done, the entire thickness of the external wall panel construction 90 becomes too thick. This is because the thickness of the external wall panel 9 is added to the thickness of the furring member 93, so that the entire external wall panel construction 90 may become as thick as 10-15 cm.
Further, the furring member 93 projects rearwardly from the rear surface of the external wall panel 9.
Accordingly, in order to paint the external wall panel construction 90 having the above-described construction, a painting conveyor and an apparatus for feeding and transporting the external wall panel construction 90 to and from the painting conveyor necessarily has a complicated structure.
Further, after the conventional external wall panel construction 90 is installed on the stud wall 961, it has the following problems.
When the external wall panel 9 is made of concrete and the furring member 93 is made of steel, and the external wall panel construction 90 is located in a hot climate, the external wall panel 9 will slightly contract, if it becomes too dry, and the furring member 93 will elongate due to thermal expansion, if it becomes too hot. In humid climates, especially in those having a rainy season, the external wall panel 9, which is made of concrete, absorbs moisture and expands, and the furring member 93, which is made of steel, does not either expand or contract.
Since the external wall panel 9 and the furring member 93 are tightly fixed to each other with the fixture 92, such as the nail, penetrating through the front surface of the external wall panel 9, an expansion of one member and a contraction of the other member or an expansion of one member while the other member remains the same, between the external wall panel 9 and the furring member 93, causes the external wall panel 9 to warp and sometimes cracks the periphery of the fixture 92.
In view of the conventional problems, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an external wall panel construction having a simple configuration and an excellent appearance without warping.
The present invention is an external wall panel construction including an external wall panel and a plurality of furring members fixed to a rear surface of the external wall panel. The furring members are longitudinally provided independently on the rear surface of the external wall panel without contacting each other. The furring members are held on the rear surface of the external wall panel via a fixing plate, the fixing plates are fixed to the external wall panel, and the external wall panel construction is installed on a stud wall.
Furthermore, the furring members include at least an L-shaped cross-section portion having a base portion and a protruding fixing member. The base portion is held on the external wall panel via the fixing plate. The protruding fixing member protrudes from the base portion so that the furring member may be fixed to the stud wall via the protruding fixing member.
The key feature of the present invention is that the furring member is fixed to the rear surface of the external wall panel via the fixing plate provided on the rear surface of the external wall panel.
The operation and effect of the external wall panel construction of the present invention will be described in more detail below.
In the external wall panel construction of the present invention, the furring member is held on the rear surface of the external wall panel via a fixing plate. The fixing plate is provided on the rear surface of the external wall panel and is fixed to the external wall panel via a set screw. Thus, unlike the conventional art, the head of a fixture, for fixing the furring member to the external wall panel, is not exposed on the front surface of the external wall panel.
Accordingly, it is unnecessary to painting the head of a fixture to cover it, and thus deterioration of appearance due to partial discoloration of the front surface of the external wall panel can be avoided.
Thus, it is possible to initially apply a high-class design to the surface of the external wall panel.
Therefore, the external wall panel construction has an excellent outer appearance.
The furring member is fixed to the rear surface of the external wall panel with the fixing plate. Thus, the external wall panel construction has a simple configuration.
Further, as described above, the furring member is flexibly fixed to the rear surface of the external wall panel via the fixing plate. Thus, even though the external wall panel and the furring member expand or contract, either because of changes in temperature, such as in hot climates, or with absorption of moisture, such as in humid climates, the external wall panel and the furring member can expand or contract freely, and the external wall panel is not subject to warping.
In the case where the external wall panel is made of concrete, the furring member is made of metal, and either the external wall panel or the furring member expands or contracts greatly due to heat or absorption of moisture, the external wall panel construction of the present invention, having a furring member fixed to an external wall panel via a fixing plate, efficiently prevents the external wall panel from warping.
As described above, the present invention provides an external wall panel construction having a simple configuration and an excellent appearance without warping.